The Why Series Pt.2 - Finding Your Why Without Forcing It

How to feel your way back to purpose when your brain wants a plan

You can't think your way to your why. You have to feel your way there.

That’s what no one tells you. Not the gurus. Not the content plans. Not the brand strategists with their perfect color palettes.

They’ll give you exercises. Templates. Blueprints. And they’ll work—for a while. Until they don’t.

Because the real why? The one that anchors your life and your art? It doesn’t live in your head. It lives in your body.

And if you’ve been trying to intellectualize your way back to meaning, here’s your permission to stop.

To pause. To breathe. To remember.

And maybe to cry. Because when we’re cut off from purpose, something in us grieves.

That disconnection shows up in the ways we second-guess everything. In the overwhelm. The creative fatigue. The low hum of "Is this even worth it?"

We try to solve it with strategy. But what we really need is softness.

We need to return to the place where our art was born—not in the grid, not in a caption, but in the quiet moments where something inside us said: this matters.

So how do you do that?

This is where embodiment comes in.

Embodiment isn’t some woo-woo concept. It’s the act of getting out of your head and back into your felt experience. Your truth. The cues your body gives you when something resonates—or when something’s just not it.

Truth isn’t something you force. It’s something you notice.

Here are a few ways to start:

PRACTICE 1: Walk and Talk

Go for a walk with your phone on record. No script. Just speak. Let it ramble. Let it be messy. Talk about your doubts, your longings, your last shoot, your childhood. Something will rise. Trust that your truth is somewhere in the sound of your own voice.

Bonus tip: You can even speak directly into ChatGPT. Use the voice input feature and just talk. Let it transcribe your stream of consciousness. Then ask it to help you reflect.

Or record your walk, transcribe the voice note, and drop the words into ChatGPT with this prompt:

"I’m exploring my personal and creative why. This is a transcript of a voice note I recorded while walking. Can you help me find common themes, emotional cues, or repeated words that might point to what truly matters to me? Please reflect it back gently and point out anything you think I might not be seeing."

This is where AI excels—not replacing your voice, but revealing it.

PRACTICE 2: The No-Share Shoot

Create something with zero intention to post it. Shoot for you. Shoot weird. Shoot soft. Shoot ugly. Let go of perfection. Let your body lead, not your strategy. Ask yourself: what am I curious about? What do I want to feel—not show?

PRACTICE 3: Memory Mapping

Draw a timeline of your life. Mark moments that changed you. Moments you felt seen. Moments you felt invisible. What beliefs were born there? What longings? What values? Chances are, the through-line of your why is woven into those memories.

Do these slowly. Don’t try to make them productive. Let them be sacred.

Because here’s the truth:

Finding your why isn’t a branding exercise. It’s a personal remembering. And sometimes you don’t even need clarity right away. Sometimes what you need is contact.

Contact with yourself. With your breath. With your actual life.

When you do this, you don’t just find your why. You become it.

Your energy shifts. Your presence sharpens. Your art feels more like you again. And that is the beginning of everything.

If you want to do this work with someone who gets it—not to give you answers, but to hold space for your truth—I offer 1:1 mentoring calls.

No fluff. No bullshit. Just you, me, and the journey back to what matters.

Click here to learn more / book a session

See you in Part 3,

Hugs,
Bjørn

For the hearts still beating—keep creating, keep pushing, keep giving a damn.